New Zealand breakfast cereals: are there sufficient low-sugar, low-sodium options?

Letters to the Editor Madam We wish to respond to a letter by Gina Levy of Kellogg (Australia) Pty Ltd - Research and Technology, Australia entitled 'The New Zealand breakfast cereal category is dynamic and responsive to consumer preferences', published in Public Health Nutrition(1)in response to our published article 'The nutritional quality of New Zealand breakfast cereals: an update'(2). Ms Levy acknowledged that a child's maximum sugar intake should be approximately 25 g/d (based on WHO recommendations that sugar should not exceed 10 % of daily energy intake(7)). [...]a child's total recommended daily sugar allowance could be consumed in this one meal alone. The 'adequate intake' of Na has been shown to range from 200-400 mg in children aged 2-3 years, through to 460-960 mg in youth aged 14-18 years(10). [...]it is concerning that one 40 g serving of dry cereal can provide up to 200 mg Na, especially as Ministry of Health data report that Na from breakfast cereals accounts for only 6 % of the daily Na intake(11). [...]Ms Levy did not provide any information that other cereals had been reformulated in recent years (either Kellogg's or any other brand) and a search of both the Internet and published literature could not identify any other information or press releases about cereal companies in New Zealand reducing their sugar content.